Essay, Research Paper: Hw Lab

I. Title
Population Genetics and Evolution:
Hardy Weinberg Equation
II. Hypothesis
This lab is separated into four different cases. Within each of these cases, there are
aspects that change the allele frequency within a population (this will be more deeply explained
in the analysis).
The first case represents the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In this case, I hypothesize
that the allele frequencies should end up with no alterations from the original frequencies. My
hypothesis is based on the Hardy-Weinberg theorem.
The second case is similar to the first case, except natural selection is present. Because
of this natural selection, all of the homozygous recessive animals die, and therefore will lower the
frequency of the recessive allele, I hypothesize.
Case three is like case two, except, now not only can the homozygous recessive not
survive, but the homozygous dominant have only a statistical chance of 50% of surviving.
Therefore, I hypothesize that the frequency of the dominant allele will rise, but not as greatly as
in case two.
Case four is supposed to represent genetic drift. In order to represent genetic drift, one
must determine the frequencies of a population, and then isolate a specific group, and then
recording the frequencies again generations later. I hypothesize that in this lab the different
groups will not equally represent the gene pool and therefore the frequencies may be drastically
different from the original populations frequency. The actual frequency change, however, is
unpredictable because it is random.


Word Count: 241